For those who aren’t familiar with my diary doodles, they are the illustrations I make capturing moments in my life. You know, diaries in doodle form. They’re not always super exciting and are rarely as funny as I want them to be, but they’re special to me because they’re honest representations of my life.

And this month’s collection of diary doodles are especially interesting (in my opinion, at least) because not only do they capture what’s been going on life-wise for me, they also highlight some exploration I have done within my artwork. From dabbling in comic formats to varying line weights in my inking to exploring with shapes and color, things are a bit all over the place this month. I’d love to know what ones you like the most!

05 March: Downward dog and Dio

Dio has no idea how to interpret my attempts at yoga. Sometimes he just watches me with a concerned look on his face, wondering why I’m not sinking into the couch like usual. Sometimes he decides it’s my invitation for play and tries to throw a toy at me while I’m trying to strike a pose. And other times he just shoves his nose into my crotch and rolls himself under me because he’s decided I need the extra distractions.

They’re not the most pleasant interruptions, but they often make me laugh so I figured why not doodle it for everyone else’s viewing pleasure? If you’re able to do yoga with your pet driving you crazy, please tell me your secrets. Worrying about my dog sniffing my lady bits during downward dog or making out with my face while doing a forward fold is very distracting.

08 March: An unexpected sleeping partner

Another fun moment with Dio this month: rolling over to find him sleeping next to me in bed! Now the act of him sleeping in my bed with me is not that unusual, he does it every night. What is unusual though is to find him sleeping parallel to me in bed with his head resting on the other pillow as if he were another human being! I can’t describe how caught off guard I was when I rolled over to find him sprawled out next to me as if he were my human husband. It just didn’t seem right, haha.

09 March: A boring Netflix binge

I think this is the saddest diary doodle of the month for me. I was so excited to binge season two of Jessica Jones when it got uploaded to Netflix and uugggghhh, what a waste of a day. It took less than one episode for me to become totally disinterested in the show, but I continued to have it on in the background the rest of the day out of hope that it would eventually draw me in. It never did. That show is just nothing without Killgrave, as far as I’m concerned. I doubt I’ll watch season three.

11 March: Hills over hugs

I slightly worry this doodle makes me look like a horrible person but c’mon, not only am I not the most sociable human being in the world I’m definitely not the most touchy-touchy. If it’s my husband we’re talking about, sure, I’m all over him. But some person at the dog park I’ve only spoken to a handful of times who I’m pretty sure doesn’t even really remember my name? Please no.

If I would’ve known she was going to go in for a hug, I would’ve remained up on my anti-social hill. But I didn’t know so I had to accept the embrace. How awkward.

12 March: No more chocolate!

I have a major chocolate addiction. Seriously, I have zero self-control when it comes to chocolate. Practically 90% of the last year has been me eating a tub of chocolate ice cream and a family sized bag of Rolos every week and it has done bad things to me.

As a result, I’ve been challenging myself to not eat chocolate like I used to. I mostly try to avoid the chocolate snacks my parents buy themselves and I even have a bag of Rolos that have sat unopened on my bookcase for the last two weeks. That may not seem like much to some people but it’s such a big deal for me. Baby steps, you know?

17 March: Drinkin’ and Dancin’

Did anyone do anything fun for St. Patrick’s Day? I went to a local bar with my parents to watch one of their old friends play in a cover band.

I think most people would mostly behave themselves in such a scenario, not wanting to do anything mortifying in front of their parents, but I’m not most people. I had a handful of cranberries and vodkas and spent the last set dancing and making a fool of myself on the dance floor. It was great. I’m sure my parents were proud.

18 March: Sundays with Mason

Aw, one of the (many) things I’ll miss when I move to London is Sundays with Mason! My little nephew comes over almost every Sunday to spend a couple of hours with my mom and while I don’t take part in all of their adventures I did enjoy our activities this Sunday.

It was warmer out than usual so we pulled out the bubbles and chalk. The bubbles were alright (except for poor Dio, he got up and walked away from any that came near him), but my favorite part was the chalk artwork. Mason had us lay down on the ground so he could trace us and then we were each in charge of coloring our silhouettes in. I went with the stripes/orange combo to represent the jail-like vibes I was feeling that day, haha.

19 March: Sending off my UK visa application

This was such a big day in my life, of course I had to doodle multiple moments from it! This was the day that I got my UK-sized passport photos taken, attended my biometric appointment, and mailed off my completed UK visa application and supporting paperwork to the UK.

I was a nervous excited ball of energy all day. I mean, I mostly played it cool while going through the motions of getting it all done, but in the inside I was definitely jumping and shouting like you see in that last little doodle.

I can’t believe this is finally happening. The month (or so) it’s going to take to find out if I’m approved or not is going to drive me absolutely insane. Keep me in your thoughts!

24 March: Chinese dinner

Honestly, I mainly drew this doodle for the character on the right. That is my mother, eating her noodles by dangling a fork-full above her gaping mouth and lowering them inside. It was such a lovely visualization that night while we were all eating our Chinese food that I wanted to capture it forever to remember her by, I’m sure she appreciates it.

The other character is me opening my fortune cookie because I do enjoy eating those. I think I ate three that night (whoops) but that was the only “fortune” I liked. I’m definitely unique inside and out.

24 March: Puppy’s unfortunate welcome to the dog park

The first rule of going to the dog park: be alert or you might get peed on. I’ve been peed on once (through the fence when I was reaching over for Dio’s leash so wasn’t paying attention), I’ve seen other people get peed on (I usually try to warn them but by the time you notice the stream it’s often too late), I’ve watched numerous items get peed on (I never ever sit on the benches because they are always getting marked), and I have seen a couple of dogs almost get peed on (usually while sticking their head down there for a sniff). It’s just a danger zone of pee there.

Well, one of the regulars adopted a new puppy who had the unfortunate luck of sniffing another dog only to get peed on the face! It was so tragic. Just to see this poor little three month old puppy with pee dripping down his head. What a cruel world it is, you know? Poor puppy!

And that’s it for my diary doodles of March! How was your March? Did you do anything for St. Patrick’s Day? Finish something that you’ve wanted to do forever? Watch any unfortunate moments? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love to compare our months!

Haha, I actually just read and commented on your recap! Were you bummed about turning 30? I’m actually not too bothered about my age. I feel like most of my 20s were a hot mess so I’m actually sort of hoping my 30s will be my golden years, haha. (One more year to go before I’ll find out!)

Yeah, I think I know what you mean. Once people know you’re in your 30s they feel like you’ve been an adult long enough that you should sort of know what you’re doing. At least the lucky thing is you don’t LOOK like you’re in your 30s so you can avoid those expectations a little bit until they find out. 😉

My cat could not handle yoga at first. All he wanted to do was sit on me, sit under me, play with the dangly bits of my trackpants draw-string, scratch the yoga mat, and pounce on my hands and feet and face. But the more I did it around him, the more he got used to it. Now he tends to saunter over at some point, scratch the yoga mat, then be on his way.

Thanks Lucy! I think you make a good point about the more you do it, the more they’ll get used to it thing. We’ve been jogging everyday and have made great progress with him learning to stick to my pace and not dragging me off my feet when he suddenly sees a squirrel. If I were to more consistently do yoga he’d eventually learn that’s my me time. Though I have to admit, right now when I do it and he bugs me I do tend to give in to his pleas for love so I’m probably just reinforcing his bad behavior. Whoops!

I’m so glad you posted this because I missed a few of these on instagram! That one of your mom eating the noodles is SO CUTE lol!

I totally understand your chocolate problem because I’ve got the same situation happening at my house right now (only it’s not just chocolate but all kinds of candy). I keep thinking maybe if I just eat it all and exhaust my supply that will somehow fix the problem – ha!

OMG that poor puppy! That had to be SO GROSS and just smell awful (at least for that puppy’s human). I hadn’t considered that a dog park would be a big ol’ pee party, but that makes sense. *shudder*

I think one thing I like most about your comics is that you make amusing observations about everyday life that I wouldn’t have noticed. And it’s so much fun to watch you experiment with different techniques, tools, and styles. 😀

I’m glad you can relate to my candy problem! I’ve actually been super good with it since last month when I finally realized just how out of control I let myself get. I went cold turkey for a couple of weeks and now I’m starting to allow myself to finally eat my bag of Rolos that have been sitting downstairs but only one serving per day (which is seven Rolos). And today my dad was going to the store and asked if I wanted candy (he was getting mom Starbursts) and I said no. So yes, super proud of my little baby steps towards my chocolate addiction because it’s such a problem for me. Food is too much a source of happiness in my life sometimes.

Haha, yeah, that poor puppy indeed! It was such a shock when it happened. They’re always sniffing each other’s privates so no one really thought nothing of it but when that stream started it was just a chorus of “oh no”s. Poor puppy had to go home and have a bath. Luckily Dio’s never had the misfortune of getting peed on but I have once at the dog park. A dog got me through the fence when I wasn’t paying attention, that little bastard. I’m pretty sure he did it on purpose.

Thanks Kelley! I feel like my style is a bit all over the place at times but I feel like with each change I’m making progress towards figuring out what I love and how to make the work mine so I’m alright with it. I’m glad others don’t mind the changes too much. 🙂

I definitely feel the chocolate one – but then I went out to get more which may or may not have defeated the object. I really loved getting to see these real moments recreated and turned into stories through your illustrations!

Don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone. My dad got in the habit of just bringing home a family sized bag of Rolos every week so it didn’t matter if I got rid of it all in the hopes of stopping myself from eating it – more would just magically reappear. I’ve finally asked him to stop though so hopefully I can get my chocolate addiction under control. It’s just so addicting!

Yes, it’s definitely stressful! It’s worth it though. Living in a different country is quite the experience. Of course, visiting is fun too. I’ve actually always wanted to visit Australia ever since I was a little kid and my husband’s grandparents live over there so the hope is one day we’ll go and visit. I took a peak at your blog and it looks like you’ve been there (multiple times?) so if I do ever go I’m going to have to hunt you down for suggestions! It looks like a lovely place. (And did I see your best friend lives there? That’s always helpful. I don’t think I could ever move a country where I didn’t know anyone. My husband living in the UK is an obvious motivation for me moving!)

I actually had cats growing up and they were definitely unsocial like yours. I actually think they’re the reason why I ended up being a dog-person as an adult. I need the love! Of course, my dog isn’t loving in the typical cuddly sense. He’s still such a puppy with so much energy that most of his love is communicated through play. Sometimes I want him to show more of that “love” too.

Thanks Brandy! I’m always looking for new blogs to stalk (sometimes I feel so out of place with my blog because of the doodles) so am adding you to my feed reader! 🙂